Technical Glossary (1935 terms)

Standardized hardware and benchmark definitions across smartphones, laptops, CPUs, GPUs, SoCs, and tablets.

• Cortex-A55 — An Arm efficiency core used alongside performance cores. [ CHIPS ]
• Cortex-A715 — Arm's efficiency-focused performance core in the 2023 generation. [ CHIPS ]
• Cortex-A78 — An Arm high-performance core used in late-2020 flagship chips. [ CHIPS ]
• CrossMark — A cross-platform productivity benchmark from BAPCo. [ BENCHMARK ]
• Crucial — Crucial is Micron's consumer brand for RAM and SSD upgrades. [ BRANDS ]
• CrystalDiskMark — A popular storage benchmark for read/write speeds. [ BENCHMARK ]
• Curved screen — A display whose left and right edges curve gently toward the viewer. [ DISPLAY ]
• DAC — Digital-to-Analog Converter — turns digital audio into sound. [ AUDIO ]
• DC dimming — Controlling display brightness by varying current rather than rapidly switching the backlight, avoiding flicker. [ DISPLAY ]
• DCI-P3 — A wide color gamut (about 25% more colors than sRGB) used for cinema and premium displays. [ DISPLAY ]
• DDR SDRAM — Double Data Rate SDRAM, the memory type underlying the DDR2/3/4/5 generations. [ MEMORY ]
• DDR2 — An older DDR memory generation, now long superseded. [ MEMORY ]
• DDR3 — A widely used older DDR memory generation, now mostly legacy. [ MEMORY ]
• DDR5 — The current DDR memory standard for laptops and desktops, doubling DDR4 bandwidth. [ MEMORY ]
• DLAA — Deep Learning Anti-Aliasing — DLSS used for image quality at native res. [ GAMING ]
• DLC — Downloadable content that adds to an existing game. [ GAMING ]
• DLSS — NVIDIA's AI upscaling that renders at lower resolution and upscales, boosting frame rates. [ GAMING ]
• DLSS 3 — DLSS 3 is an Nvidia upscaling generation that adds frame generation. [ GAMING ]
• DLSS 4 — The 2025 DLSS generation with multi-frame generation. [ GAMING ]
• DLSS frame gen — DLSS frame generation inserts AI-generated frames to raise smoothness. [ GAMING ]
• DRAM — Dynamic Random-Access Memory — the volatile memory used for system RAM. [ MEMORY ]
• DRAM cache — Onboard DRAM on an SSD that caches the mapping table for fast, consistent access. [ STORAGE ]
• DSDA — Dual SIM Dual Active — both SIMs can be active simultaneously. [ CONNECTIVITY ]
• DSDS — Dual SIM Dual Standby — both SIMs standby for calls. [ CONNECTIVITY ]
• DSP — Digital Signal Processor — a chip block optimized for signal processing. [ CHIPS ]
• DSP chip — A DSP chip processes signals such as audio or sensor data in real time. [ CHIPS ]
• DTS — Audio company known for DTS:X and DTS-HD surround sound and upscaling technologies. [ BRANDS ]
• DTS HD — A high-quality DTS surround audio format for film soundtracks. [ AUDIO ]
• DTS:X — DTS's object-based spatial audio format for 3D sound. [ AUDIO ]
• DUV — Deep ultraviolet lithography used for older or mainstream nodes. [ CHIPS ]
• DVI — An older digital display connector for monitors, now largely replaced by HDMI and DisplayPort. [ PORTS ]
• Dell — US PC maker known for XPS, Inspiron, Latitude, Precision, and Alienware systems. [ BRANDS ]
• Dell XPS 13 — Dell's compact premium ultrabook — launched in 2024. [ PRODUCT LINES ]
• Device Tier — Market segment of a device — flagship, midrange, or budget — set by price and feature level. [ GENERAL ]
• DeviceBenchmark Score — Standardized 0-100 normalized performance index combining laboratory test suites, synthetic benchmarks, and technical specifications. [ BENCHMARK ]
• Digital Zoom — Software cropping that magnifies an image but reduces resolution and detail. [ CAMERA ]
• Dimensity — Dimensity is MediaTek's line of flagship and midrange 5G mobile SoCs. [ BRANDS ]
• Dimensity 8400 — MediaTek's midrange SoC with all-big cores (launched in 2024). [ CHIPS ]
• Dimensity 9000 — MediaTek's flagship SoC with a Mali GPU (launched in 2022). [ CHIPS ]
• Dimensity 9200 — MediaTek's flagship SoC with ray tracing (launched in 2023). [ CHIPS ]
• Dimensity 9300 — MediaTek's all-big-core flagship SoC (launched in 2024). [ CHIPS ]
• Dimensity 9400 — MediaTek's flagship SoC with a strong GPU (launched in 2024). [ CHIPS ]
• Dimensity 9500 — MediaTek's flagship SoC generation (launched in 2025). [ CHIPS ]
• DirectStorage — Microsoft's API that loads game assets straight from NVMe SSDs. [ GAMING ]
• Discrete GPU — A separate GPU chip with its own VRAM and cooling — much faster but uses more power. [ PERFORMANCE ]
• DisplayHDR 1000 — A high VESA DisplayHDR tier requiring 1000 nits peak brightness and local dimming. [ DISPLAY ]
• DisplayHDR 1400 — The top VESA DisplayHDR tier requiring 1400 nits peak brightness and strong local dimming. [ DISPLAY ]
• DisplayHDR 400 — The entry VESA DisplayHDR tier requiring at least 400 nits peak brightness and basic HDR support. [ DISPLAY ]
• DisplayHDR 600 — A mid VESA DisplayHDR tier requiring 600 nits peak brightness and local dimming. [ DISPLAY ]
• DisplayMate — A display-testing and calibration firm whose reports are widely cited; now part of Samsung. [ DISPLAY ]